Kenyan troops killed six children in Somalia last year, while Al-Shabaab was responsible for the deaths of 208 persons under age 18, the United Nations said in a report issued on Wednesday.
However, the UN said Kenyan air strikes had resulted in the deaths of several children.
“Unknown armed elements” are responsible for the killing or maiming of 477 children in Somalia last year. About half the total of 931 cited in the report by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Forces fighting against Al-Shabaab also killed many children, the UN found. In addition to the deaths reportedly caused by the KDF, 21 children were said to have been killed by African Union troops, 88 by the Somali National Army and 10 by the Somali Police Force.
“Unidentified clan militias” accounted for scores of additional deaths of children, according to the UN report.
The Islamist insurgents sexually abused 75 children. About twice as many as were violated by Somali government soldiers, according to the report.
Shabaab is further said to have recruited 1,770 boys and girls, the UN reported, citing the group’s “sustained reliance on children for combat and support duties.”
The UN differentiates between recruitment and abduction of children into military roles. The report says 98 percent of the 1634 child abductions in Somalia last year were carried out by Al-Shabaab.